Shipping bag

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for forming a shipping container comprises a tubular body extending between top and bottom ends, first and second bottom panels extending from the bottom end, the first and second bottom closing panels rotatable from a co-planar configuration with the tubular body to a position extending perpendicularly across the bottom of the tubular body and at least one fastener adapted to secure the bottom closing panels across the bottom end of the tubular body. The shipping container may also be formed by a planar body having top and bottom surfaces wherein the top surface is adapted to support a load, at least one pocket extending across the bottom surface and at least one spacing element sized to be received within the pocket. The apparatus may include at least one rigid body between the top and bottom surfaces of the planar body and side walls extending upwardly therefrom.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/888,878 filed Aug. 19, 2019 entitled Shipping Bag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention

This disclosure relates generally to shipping and in particular to amethod and apparatus for shipping materials.

2. Description of Related Art

In many fields, it is necessary to ship raw materials from one locationto another. In particular, it is difficult to ship loose or shreddedmaterials due to the need to contain such particles within a container.One example of such materials is shredded or particles of recycledmaterials such as, by way of non-limiting example, plastic. Suchrecycled materials frequently need to be transported significantdistances from where it is reclaimed and broken up to locations in needof such materials.

Conventionally, such loose particulate material would be shipped in oneof several methods. In one method, the particulate material may beshipped in in a bag or other flexible container. Such bagsdisadvantageously, are difficult to empty requiring a crane or otherheavy lifting device to enable the bag to be dumped.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first embodiment, there is disclosed an apparatus forforming a shipping container comprising a tubular body extending betweentop and bottom ends, first and second bottom panels extending from thebottom end, the first and second bottom closing panels rotatable from aco-planar configuration with the tubular body to a position extendingperpendicularly across the bottom of the tubular body and at least onefastener adapted to secure the bottom closing panels across the bottomend of the tubular body.

The bottom closing panels may be positioned on opposite sides of thetubular body from each other. The bottom closing panels may be connectedto the tubular member along fold lines. The bottom closing panels mayinclude side flaps extending laterally therefrom, the side flaps sizedto be operable to extend up a portion of a side of the tubular member.

The at least one fastener may comprise hook and loop fasteners betweenthe side flaps and the sides of the tubular portion. The at least onefastener may includes a pin receivable within a bore in the side flaps.

The bottom closing panels may include side skirts extending therebetweenin a direction downwardly from the tubular portion. The side skirts mayinclude fold lines formed therein so as to be folded into an interior ofthe tubular body when the bottom closing panels are secured to thetubular body.

The at least bottom closing panel may include pockets adapted to receivespacing elements. The spacing elements may comprise inflatable tubes.The pockets may extend across the bottom of the container parallel tothe fold lines of the flaps.

According to a first embodiment, there is disclosed a method for forminga shipping container comprising providing a tubular body extendingbetween top and bottom ends, rotating first and second bottom panelsextending from the bottom end, the first and second bottom closingpanels from a co-planar configuration with the tubular body to aposition extending perpendicularly across the bottom of the tubular bodyand securing the bottom closing panels across the bottom end of thetubular body.

According to a first embodiment, there is disclosed an apparatus forforming a shipping platform comprising a planar body having top andbottom surfaces wherein the top surface is adapted to support a load atleast one rigid body locate within the planar body between the top andbottom surfaces, at least one pocket extending across the bottom surfaceand at least one spacing element sized to be received within the pocket.

The at least one rigid body may comprise slats. The at least one spacingelement may comprise inflatable members. The at least one rigid body andthe spacing elements may be perpendicular to each other. The apparatusmay further comprise a base connecting member extending below the atleast one pocket.

According to a first embodiment, there is disclosed an apparatus forforming a shipping support comprising a planar body having top andbottom surfaces wherein the top surface is adapted to support a load, atleast one pocket extending across the bottom surface and at least onespacing element sized to be received within the pocket.

Other aspects and features of the present disclosure will becomeapparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of thefollowing description of specific embodiments of the disclosure inconjunction with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings constitute part of the disclosure. Eachdrawing illustrates exemplary aspects wherein similar characters ofreference denote corresponding parts in each view,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for forming a shippingcontainer according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure atan open configuration.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 at a closedconfiguration.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 at a closedconfiguration with air bladders being inserted thereinto.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an apparatus for forming a palletaccording to a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 4 with slats andair bladders being inserted thereinto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure are now described with reference toexemplary apparatuses, methods and systems. Referring to FIG. 1, anapparatus for forming a shipping container according to a firstembodiment of the invention is shown generally at 10. The apparatus 10comprises a tubular body 12 having an open top 14 and a bottom 13. Theapparatus 10 includes at least one foldable bottom closing panels 20operable to close the bottom 13 of the apparatus. As illustrated in FIG.1, the tubular body 12 may have a substantially square cross sectionalthough it will be appreciated that other cross-sectional shapes suchas, by way of non-limiting example, rectangular may be useful as well.As Illustrated in FIG. 1, the tubular body 12 may have end and sidewalls 17 and 18, respectively wherein the bottom closing panels 20 arehingedly connected to the end walls 17. The tubular body 12 extends to abottom edge formed by folding in the bottom closing panels 20 as will bemore fully described below.

The bottom closing panels 20 may be formed as extensions of the endwalls 17 with a fold line 21 therebetween so as to be rotatable to aposition under the bottom 13 of the body 12 and spanning the opening ofthe body to close it. The bottom closing panels 20 may include sideextensions 22 extending from the side walls 18 of the body 12 as wellwhich are connected to the side walls 18 with a fold line 23. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the side extensions 22 may include angular seamsor fold lines 24 formed therein so as to aid in the side extensions 22being folded within the interior of the body 12 when the bottom closingpanels 20 are folded up.

The bottom closing panels 20 include connecting flaps 26 extending fromthe edges thereof. The connecting flaps 26 include fasteners thereonadapted to secure the flaps in the closed position as illustrated inFIG. 2. In particular, the connecting flaps 26 may include hook and loopfasteners cooperating with a corresponding hook and loop strip 28extending along the bottom of the side walls 18. It will be appreciatedthat other types of fasteners may also be utilized such as by way ofnon-limiting example, snaps, hooks or clasps. Additionally, the sidewalls 18 may include a pin 30 extending therefrom adapted to passthrough a bore 32 in the closure flaps so as to provide an additionalsecuring means of the connecting flaps 26 to the side walls 18.Additionally, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the flaps 26 may have agreater length than the bottom closing panels 20 such that the flaps 26overlap each other to be connected to a common pin as will be furtherset out below. As illustrated in FIG. 2, both bottom closing panels arefold up however only the flaps 26 of one side are connected over the pin30.

Turning now to FIG. 3, the bottom closing panels 20 include spacingmembers 38 such as an air bladder therein adapted to space the bottomclosing panels (which form the bottom of the container) above a floor orother surface. The spacing member may also include another body adaptedto raise the bottom closing panels 20 above a ground surface. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, the bottom closing panels 20 may include pockets40 extending therealong. The pockets may be filled with any objects toprovide such spacing of the flaps and body 12 above the ground. Inparticular, the pockets may be filled with inflatable air bladders 38which are slidably inserted into the pockets 40. As illustrated, thepockets are spaced apart by a sufficient distance to permit a forkliftto lift the assembled body. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the pockets 40 mayextend parallel to the fold lines 21. The body 12 may be formed of anyflexible material so as to permit folding and compact storage of thebody 12 when not in use such as, by way of non-limiting example, fabricsplastics or canvas.

Turning now to FIG. 4, according to a further embodiment, the presentapparatus 50 may be formed as a pallet without side walls. Optionally, asmall flexible 55 side wall may be formed therearound which may bedeformed or folded to permit access to the pockets 56 and 58. Inparticular, the pallet 50 may be formed of a flexible sheet of material52 with having a top and bottom surface, 51 and 53, respectively and toppockets 56 formed therebetween. The top pockets 56 may be sized toreceive a slat 54 or other rigid material, such as, by way ofnon-limiting example strips of wood or bamboo. The bottom 53 of thesheet of material 52 may include bottom pockets 58 similar to as set outabove which are adapted to receive spacing elements such as inflatablebladders 60. As illustrated the top and bottom pockets 56 and 58 may beperpendicular to each other to aid in rigidity of the apparatus 50. Thepallet may also include wear strips 62 which are formed of a durablematerial to provide a smooth surface for fork lift forks or otherlifting objects to pass under the apparatus without damaging the otherportions thereof. The wear strips also assist in maintaining desiredspacing of the bottom pockets. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the sheet 52may be folded for storage or transportation when the slats 54 andbladders 60 are not installed therein.

While specific embodiments have been described and illustrated, suchembodiments should be considered illustrative only and not as limitingthe disclosure as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for forming a shipping containercomprising: a tubular body extending between top and bottom ends; firstand second bottom panels extending from the bottom end, the first andsecond bottom closing panels rotatable from a co-planar configurationwith the tubular body to a position extending perpendicularly across thebottom of the tubular body; and at least one fastener adapted to securethe bottom closing panels across the bottom end of the tubular body. 2.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the bottom closing panels arepositioned on opposite sides of the tubular body from each other.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2 wherein the bottom closing panels are connected tothe tubular member along fold lines.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 whereinthe bottom closing panels include side flaps extending laterallytherefrom, the side flaps sized to be operable to extend up a portion ofa side of the tubular member.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the atleast one fastener comprise hook and loop fasteners between the sideflaps and the sides of the tubular portion.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5wherein the at least one fastener includes a pin receivable within abore in the side flaps.
 7. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the bottomclosing panels include side skirts extending therebetween in a directiondownwardly from the tubular portion.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 whereinside skirts include fold lines formed therein so as to be folded into aninterior of the tubular body when the bottom closing panels are securedto the tubular body.
 9. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the at leastbottom closing panel include pockets adapted to receive spacingelements.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the spacing elementscomprise inflatable tubes.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein thepockets extend across the bottom of the container parallel to the foldlines of the flaps.
 12. A method for forming a shipping containercomprising: providing a tubular body extending between top and bottomends; rotating first and second bottom panels extending from the bottomend, the first and second bottom closing panels from a co-planarconfiguration with the tubular body to a position extendingperpendicularly across the bottom of the tubular body; and securing thebottom closing panels across the bottom end of the tubular body.
 13. Anapparatus for forming a shipping platform comprising: a planar bodyhaving top and bottom surfaces wherein the top surface is adapted tosupport a load; at least one rigid body locate within the planar bodybetween the top and bottom surfaces; at least one pocket extendingacross the bottom surface; and at least one spacing element sized to bereceived within the pocket.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the atleast one rigid body comprises slats.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13wherein the at least one spacing element comprises inflatable members.16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the at least one rigid body andthe spacing elements are perpendicular to each other.
 17. The apparatusof claim 13 further comprising a base connecting member extending belowthe at least one pocket.
 18. An apparatus for forming a shipping supportcomprising: a planar body having top and bottom surfaces wherein the topsurface is adapted to support a load; at least one pocket extendingacross the bottom surface; and at least one spacing element sized to bereceived within the pocket.